On Wednesday morning, the big winner of yesterday's lottery arrived at Mifal HaLois House, which won the first prize of NIS 40 million.
The happy winner is a man in his 50s, married with children, living in the center of the country and will soon celebrate his birthday. The excited winner told the National Lottery staff: "For two months now I've been filling out a form in every lottery. I mark one number on all the tables on the form and ask the Lottomat to complete the numbers for me. So far, my "method" has not really proven itself, and last Saturday night, while submitting the form, I made a decision – that if the number I chose was not drawn, I would completely abandon the idea and look for another way."
When the winner woke up on Wednesday morning, he went to the National Lottery website and discovered that the fixed number he had chosen had indeed come up in the lottery. The winner said: "At that moment I manually checked the form, and pretty quickly I start to realize that I am the winner of the grand prize. My son slept in his room at home. Like a storm wind, I entered his room and shouted: "We won!" The son, who didn't really understand what I wanted from him at that hour, replied: 'Dad, not now.' And I kept repeating myself until he realized I was going to win the lottery. His initial reaction aside from the shock was: 'I don't know if I'm happier or more scared because it's a very high amount.' I hugged him tightly and told him that the money wouldn't turn our lives upside down and that he wouldn't worry."
Mifal Hapais stand // Photo: Dudu Greenspan (the subject has no connection to the report),
"Of course the joy at home was very great," the winner continued: "Since my wife is still at work, I haven't told her anything and I can't wait to tell her when she comes home. I plan to tell her this – I will nonchalantly ask her what she would like most in life, and since I know the answer, that she would like to reduce her demanding job, I will tell her with a broad smile: 'Now we are going to make your wish come true!'"
"As my son and I drive to the National Lottery, he says to me: Dad, the news sites have already announced that there is a winner of the first prize in the lottery who has not yet arrived to redeem the prize. Since we already knew and we were both on our way, we started laughing out loud and said to ourselves, 'Patience! Wait a few more minutes! We're coming!'"
"I used to read the lottery winning stories religiously, and when I used to toy with thinking, 'What would I do if I won?' I always came to the same conclusion – which is to help children acquire a property, so that they can fulfill themselves however they want. My wife and I are very financially calculated, and our whole lives have been going well. We are very pleased with what we have achieved so far, and do not feel that anything substantial will change thanks to the win. What is more, this summer the whole family will go on a large and pampering trip abroad, something we have wanted to do for many years and so far has not come to fruition. Now there are no more excuses."
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